Home Forums Hunting & Shooting BPCR Finally torched off the 45-90 Shiloh today.....and a question.

Seventy six grains of Elephant 2F behind a RCBS 405 Gov slug. Yes, I know they don't make it (Elephant) anymore. Got the sights dialed in at 25 and then 50 yds and decided to try for a group with rounds 11 through 15. Eleven and twelve were touching, and then things went to hell 3 or 4 inches off in absolutely random directions.

I should have gone equipped to do some mid-shoot cleaning, but the range was covered with 2 feet of snow and it was a tough hike through deeper drifts just to get to the benches and target frames.

Anyway, it was a ball, and I just wish I'd had some company along to share things with. Going to wait for some better conditions and then get with it again.

Closing with a question here. When the taxes or the federal kicker arrive, I thought I'd load up on powder. Damn near impossible to find any around this neck of the woods. The question... What are the leanings of this crowd??? Goex or Swiss??

Congratulations on making smoke with your Shiloh. I doubt you'll find a consensus on powder brand. I use Swiss 1.5F in my .45-90. The approximate equivalent granulation in GOEX would be FFg. The Swiss is more expensive, but it won't necessarily work any better in your rifle. GOEX also offers their Express powder, also at a premium price. I have a friend who likes it.
Like so many other variables, you would really need to experiment with different powders to squeeze the best performance out of your rifle. Given that you are just starting out, I'd just pick one of these and work up a decent load. Later you can experiment with different brands. Do stick with the granulations I recommended. There's no real value in going finer or coarser with the .45-90. It's pretty straight forward.

Paul

I'm a big fan of Goex, Cartridge works well for me.2f express is a good powder, but I'm not convinced its enough better to justify the expense. 3f express works really well in my wifes 40-65.I usually order from Bear River Powder in Evanston wy.
If you go to Grafs to place your order you can order however many pounds you want up to 25. So you could get a couple of Goex and Swiss, and maybe even throw in some their house brand which is supposed to be some real good powder.
Another brand that some folks get along with real well , but you don't read much about is KIK.

GOEX FFG Express does well in my rifle

Get the 2f Goex Express, and never look back. 85 grains and a Federal 210 along with a Lyman Postell is very accurate and burns CLEAN. You'll look far and wide and won't come up with anything that works as well, let alone better.